Discover Top Posts Tagged with #language aquisition

GLOSS - Global Language Online Support System

This online resource has tons of resources for lots of different languages, and it is totally free!

There are lots of lessons catered to different levels which tailor vocab practice as well as listening and reading comprehension. I would say that the vocabulary and scenarios are generally more geared up towards security/defence and diplomacy, so if you are studying international relations or something geared towards the international sphere, this may be particularly interesting!

Then you can select different types of activities, which you can download onto your computer as MP3s and PDFs. The activities are categorised based on what skill they train. There are reading and vocab activities that help build up knowledge. Although the topics are pretty specific, they are really useful for getting vocab practice in areas that you are not so familiar with!

The activities are diverse and varied, with explanations for answers that were not correct!

There is also a glossary for all the new words, which has an audio file to listen to the pronunciation by a native speaker. This is particularly useful for self study, especially when contact with native speakers is less frequent.

All in all I really rate the website, the resources are a really great compliment to language studies, and although they are kind of 'old school' in their approach, they seem really effective!

***The link***

https://gloss.dliflc.edu/

#langblr #language resources #language learning #language goals #language aquisition #korean language #french langblr #spanish langblr #chinese langblr #mandarin chinese #arabic langblr #vocabulary

Does anyone have any tips for getting over that rough, intermediate period of language learning? I’m currently studying in China right now, on my fifth month here, and working on HSK 4. Lately it seems like I’m just out of inspiration. I’m tired, frustrated with where my skills are at, and just wanting to immerse myself in my native language.

Anybody else been through this with their target language? Any advice or experiences would be appreciated. Send me anons, message me, reblog, however you guys would prefer!

#langblr #language learning #language aquisition #mandarin #mandarin learning #chinese #chinese langblr #plateau #hsk #hsk 4 #intermediate level #slump #personal #talk to me!

Can you explain what you mean about "comprehensible input" & producing output?

Of course! Comprehensible input is input (listening or reading) that is 90% + comprehensible to you, or i + 1. That is to say just beyond your own abilities. It allows you to use what you know to contextualize new words and structures plus get in more repetitions of familiar structures.

On average, it takes 50-70 repetitions of a structure to remember and use quickly and correctly, but 150-500 is much better for long term retention as well as understanding nuance.

The idea is that you can’t actually force yourself to learn the “rules” of language in order to produce it, especially if you want to produce it fluidly on the spot. Instead, you acquire the rules and structures through comprehensible input. Other factors like openness to understanding and a low affective filter (comfort with participating in communication) are also very important.

Associated is the idea of the silent period, where very little output is happening, but a large amount of input is being processed. Much like first language acquisition. Forcing output based on some rule repetitions doesn’t seem to have any appreciable impact on actual language acquisition. Reading, however, does. Like a lot. Even super language learners like Daniel Tammet (Brainman) use an incredible memory (conscious learning) and acquisition strategies (subconscious) like reading and listening to the radio.

Ultimately, you have to be motivated to use a language if you want to produce output, but the quality of that output depends greatly on the amount on comprehensible input you are receiving.

Some research, if you’re interested:

Krashen - so many articles here (free)

Batterink & Neville - The Human Brain Processes Syntax in the Absence of Conscious Awareness

VanPatten - The Two Faces of SLA: Mental Representation and Skill

Ellis - Principles of Instructed Language Learning

The Research Supporting the Comprehensible Input Hypothesis and C.I. Instruction

#language aquisition #language learning #linguistics #sla #tprs #ci #comprehensible input

Today in my Language Acquisition and the Developing Child class, we watched a video about children who experience extreme abuse in the form of social isolation and how it affects language development because of missed critical development periods.

It's an interesting topic from a scientific standpoint, but it's absolutely heart breaking, as the only way to examine the hypothesis of critical development periods is to look at cases of extreme child abuse since any experiment on the subject would in fact also be abusive and unethical. In the particular case we looked at, a young girl was kept isolated in a dark room for 13 years before she was discovered and rescued, and had had little to no experience with language.

The current hypothesis on language acquisition and development is that there is a critical window spanning from prenatal development until puberty. Since the child was 13 before she was able to experience language, she was only able to learn a vast vocabulary, and never grasped grammar beyond the very basic aspects.

This is because the area of her brain responsible for language and language acquisition was never used during the critical period and the synapses in the area of the brain deteriorated. Modern brain imaging has been able to document this phenomenon in other cases of extreme isolation/abuse.

While the circumstances of these cases are horrific and difficult to stomach, it is important to use this information to help children in their development. Talking, reading, and singing with children is extremely important, especially during the first 5 years of life, as 90% of their brain is developed by age 5.

#child abuse tw #long post #school blogging #child development #language aquisition #after that we watched a video on motor skills/development in infants so that was a better note to end the class on #really hope this is coherent but who knows at this point #also children's brains are not fully developed at birth because their heads would not fit through the birth canal if they were

Do you have any tips for when you have a character that cannot speak or communicate with anyone around them? My main character grew up in a community where people speak using only their hands but she ends up being taken away to another place. Can she still learn another language and be able to fluently speak to another person? I think I remember hearing that if you don't learn grammar when you're young then you can't when you're older.

To an extent, yes, but they’d have a definite disadvantage and would need a teacher, a speech therapist, and years of practice. Sign language and spoken language are not the same thing at all when it comes to how the brain develops. Speech can only truly be mastered during one’s formative years (ages 0-7) and after that it’s a long road to what you and I would consider “fluency.” If your character is actually mute, then they will not learn how to speak the same way a deaf person cannot be “taught” how to hear.

Consider, if your character has never heard a word pronounced then do they think solely in visuals and emotions? If they’ve never heard or seen words (unless they do have a written form of communication) they will not think in a way easy for you to write. I wouldn’t advise writing in the first person, and I would advise giving your character a speaking childhood mentor or taking them from said community when they’re still a child. That is, if you want them to be able speak coherently at some point.

Definitely research language acquisition and mutism since it sounds like they’ll be a significant part of your story. You might also read these two cases of children who grew up without speech. (1,2)

#answer #writing advice #mutism #speech #language aquisition #writing tips #mute character #writing #character development

Un poco de inmersión en la mañana del lunes

Este libro se titula Feminismo para principiantes. Estoy leyendo este libro porque el tema del feminismo me interesa mucho. Así aprendo algunas cosas nuevas, mientras practico mi español al mismo tiempo. También escuché un podcast de duolingo.

#spanish langblr #langblr #language immersion #language learning #bookblr #language aquisition

Portable language learning: learning languages on an e-reader

Foreign language sections on the kindle book store

I have started with Harry Potter, and I am going through the series, at the time I was using the Kindle Unlimited 3 month trial, where all of the Harry Potter books are available as part of this, in French, English, Spanish and German.

Look out for deals on languages books: I managed to get Short Stories in Spanish and Short Stories in German for 99p each on a day where there was a deal, so look out for these regularly, and search the store to see what is on offer, you might be lucky in finding a bargain on a book you have wanted for a while!

Download a dictionary to help with any vocabulary that you don’t know

I have the French-English dictionary installed on my kindle so when I am going through, even offline, the words are able to be checked. This means that I can read on the go, and still make sure that I am learning new words, you can also make notes on the individual words.

The highlight feature is great for checking vocabulary and flagging up any things you are not sure of without disrupting the flow of reading, to come back later to.

So you can go back and look over vocabulary again, or highlight sentences that you wish to copy/make a note of.

Download PDF’s of language textbooks. Many textbooks and other reference books can be downloaded onto the kindle software, and can be used to study on the go.

This is great as it can lighten the load of your bag and save paper by downloading the textbooks of the language to your kindle. This can be workbooks and textbooks with dialogues, cultural notes and exercises to do some thorough learning whilst travelling or commuting.

Also as a small hack: It is sometimes possible to sign up to a kindleunlimited free trial and then turn your kindle on airplane mode. After downloading the desired books and cutting off the internet connections, it means you can download a lot of books for free, then use them after the cancellation period has begun. You can continue to add new books to your kindle after the period has finished by connecting your kindle via USB and downloading the files from your account and transferring them though your My Computer/Finder externally from your online amazon account.

If you don’t have a Kindle, a lot of these benefits can be found on the application, which is downloadable to both Android and IOS devices for free, so it may be possible to find these books on your phone or computer too without having to buy one.

Maximising your Kindle when learning a language can provide an excellent additional tool which is totally portable, making sure there are opportunities during a morning commute or a lunch break for even the busiest of language learners!

#language learning #langblr #language #language aquisition #immersion #language immersion #french langblr #french langblog #chinese langblr #korean language #ebooks #kindle

Most machine-learning models rely on mountains of data to replicate human text, but new research suggests the recipe for learning language m

#language aquisition #AI